From The Beginning
by NZGirl25
Summary: Charlie and Brax from the very beginning. This is the story of how a Riverboy fell in love with a cop. This story is definitely not going to end the way it did on the show, this story is going to have a happy ending this time. Rated T just in case. Pairings: Chax, Heanca and Rasey.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey readers! NZGirl25 here :) I've decided that I'm gonna start The Journey again, in the form of this new story. This is basically Charlie and Brax from the very beginning, starting from the Singles Night. This is going to include a lot of stuff from the show so I don't muck anything up this time.**

**So, I hope you enjoy this story :)**

* * *

"You guys get my Facebook invitation for the singles night?" Angelo asked, coming up to Charlie Buckton and Leah Patterson at the Pier Diner.

"Yeah, I did actually," Charlie answered. "And your SMS, and your email." She said, turning to look at him.

"And I particularly liked the desperate and dateless." Leah added from behind the counter, where she was working.

"Oh I wasn't talking about you," Angelo said, looking at Charlie. "Or you."

"Yeah and what was it? Free drinks for girls under 30?" Charlie asked, looking at Leah.

"Yeah, its going to cost me a bit but I should get that back with the extra sales," Angelo said. Leah raised her eyebrows. "You guys are over 30. Um, look, how about I give you free drinks anyway."

"I should hope so." Leah nodded her head with a smile on her face.

"So you'll come? Angelo asked hopefully.

* * *

Charlie walked into Angelo's. "Hey." She greeted Angelo.

"Hey!" Angelo returned the greeting. "Um, do you need something to eat?"

"No, I just thought I'd pop in to see how things are." Charlie answered.

"Uh, well they're good," Angelo said, raising a hand. Angelo walked towards the bar and Charlie followed. "Fine. Great!" He cleared his throat.

"Are you sure?" Charlie asked. "Because this morning I got the distinct impression that things weren't good, fine, great." She leaned a hand on the bar and looked at Angelo.

"Okay, I'm just managing to pay my staff and the suppliers to be honest." Angelo admitted.

"What, I don't get it, this place is packed on the weekends."

"Yeah, but during the week its hardly worth me putting the stoves on," Angelo said. "You know I really need this singles night to work. And other nights like it. If I don't expand this clientele then I could sink."

"Okay," Charlie said. "Well, I'll be here tonight if that helps."

Angelo breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Thank you, and twenty of your friends?" He gave Charlie a hopeful smile.

"I can't guarantee 20 but I'll work on Leah." Charlie promised. Angelo smiled. Suddenly they could hear a screech over the microphone and Liam saying "Sorry, sorry."

Charlie smiled at Angelo. "I'll leave you to it." She said before turning around and leaving the restaurant.

* * *

Charlie walked into Angelo's that night with Leah and Bianca. They looked around and then back at each other, surprised at how empty the restaurant was. A few guys were hanging out at the bar drinking but that was pretty much it. Angelo spotted them and walked over to them.

"Ladies, hello." Angelo greeted.

"Hey, did we get the time wrong or-" Leah trailed off.

"Unfortunately no." Angelo said.

"Don't worry about it," Charlie told him. "It's still early."

"Yeah, everyone is just fashionably late." Bianca said with a hint of a laugh in her voice.

"Yeah, well I hope so. I spent more money than I could afford marketing this gig and at the moment there's more staff than paying customers," Angelo said, turning around and walking towards the bar. "So, little bit awkward. Uh, how about we start with a free drink. What would you like?"

"I'm fine, I'm just going to have water for now." Charlie answered.

"Yeah, I'll have water." Leah agreed.

"Wine." Bianca nodded. Charlie and Leah looked over their shoulder at Bianca and smiled.

"That's more like it," Angelo exclaimed. "Hey look I'll bring it out to you." After Angelo left Charlie and Leah giggled.

"What?" Bianca asked with a smile on her face.

"So who's that?" Bianca asked.

"It looks like one of Liam's old groupies." Leah guessed.

"Oh god don't look now." Charlie said, motioning to the three guys at the bar who were checking them out. Bianca turned around and smiled flirtatiously at them.

"Stop it don't encourage them," Leah laughed, following Charlie to a table outside. "Otherwise they'll come over."

"Single's night," Bianca said. "What's the point of being here if we're not going to flirt?"

"Bianca!" Charlie reprimanded playfully. "You're the only out of us who **does** have a boyfriend."

"Yeah, not that you can tell that right about now." Bianca said,

"Right," Leah said. "So I take it that the two of you didn't work things out."

"Nope," Bianca answered. "But I'm not going to let that ruin my evening." She started to walk towards the bar towards the guys and that caught Liam's attention. She plopped herself down on a stool and began talking to the guys. Leah and Charlie looked at each other and giggled.

Later on, Bianca was seductively dancing with one of the guys. Afterwards, she walked over to the table where Leah and Charlie were sitting and sat down on a barstool.

"You think if you're gonna cheat you should really remove the mark the wedding ring left behind." Bianca said, drinking some wine.

"Yeah it's not exactly the classiest night out I've ever had." Charlie said.

"Yeah, there's still a serious lack of women here." Leah added as Angelo arrived at their table.

"Ladies, how's the evening going?" Angelo asked.

"Uhh, well actually we were thinking of calling it a night." Leah told him.

"Yeah." Charlie agreed.

"But it's only early!" Angelo protested.

"Yeah, but we've both got work in the morning." Charlie informed him.

"Just half an hour more please." Angelo desperately asked. He needed the night to improve and fast. "I don't want to sound bad but I kind of need you to stay to keep the guys interested in staying."

"Yeah you're right that does sound bad." Charlie told him as Bianca giggled.

"Yeah. One more drink please." Angelo pleaded.

Charlie and Leah looked at each other.

"Half an hour that's it." Charlie told him.

"Great, thank you," Angelo said before his gaze landed on the door. "Oh perfect, just what I don't need."

"Who are they?" Bianca asked, looking at the guys who just walked into Angelo's.

"The Riverboys," Charlie answered. "Surfie gang from Mangrove River."

"Yeah they don't usually hang out in the bay." Angelo commented.

"Which means they're probably here to cause trouble!" Charlie said with a sigh.

"Excuse me." Angelo said before heading over to tend to the bar.

"Evening gents." Angelo greeted them.

"Oi, friendly face." Darryl 'Brax' Braxton said. His shirt was unbuttoned just enough to see the hint of a chest tattoo.

"Ah, you did me for speeding last year." Brax's brother Heath said.

"That's right, it cost me four hundred bucks," Brax replied. "What are you doing behind a bar?" He looked at Heath. "Oi, undercover aye. Big drug bust going down."

"I own this bar. I don't want any trouble do you understand?" Angelo asked.

"Don't get at me, We're just a couple of lonely, unattached guys," Brax held up a wad of cash. "Come to meet some single girls."

"That's what it said on your flyer after all." Heath said.

"I'll have a bourbon thanks." Brax said, putting some dollar bills onto the bar.

"Same, and a beer chaser," Heath ordered. "Thank you waiter."

Angelo sighed and turned to fix their drinks, while Brax turned around. Straight away, his gaze landed on Charlie. She had his attention.

* * *

It didn't take long for the Riverboys to get rowdy. Liam had a brief conversation with Angelo about not performing but reluctantly headed for the stage.

"Yeah, you see him?" Charlie asked Leah and Bianca. "That's Darryl Braxton. Serious trouble. His friends are no angels either."

"Why are the bad ones always so hot?" Bianca wondered out loud just as Liam began to play.

The Riverboys seemed to get more and more out of hand. Charlie walked up to Angelo who was standing near the entrance watching all of it happen.

"Okay, we need to shut this down before it gets even more out of hand." Charlie informed him, her cop side beginning to come through.

Angelo sighed. "Yeah," He headed over to where Brax was sitting. "Look Brax you gotta finish your drinks, the bar closes in ten minutes."

"Well the sign outside says you're open for another hour." Brax said, pointing a finger towards the door.

"Yeah well tonights a special night." Angelo told him.

"And why is that?" Brax asked. "Because refusing our service could be seen as discrimination."

Brax and Angelo continued to argue while Charlie watched on. Angelo spotted a Riverboy trying to hit on Leah and headed over to the entrance.

"Hey! That's it! Hit the road!" He told the Riverboy, who just happened to be Heath Braxton.

"What?" Heath asked.

"You heard me."

"You can't kick me out for talking to a girl." Heath said.

"Watch me." Angelo threatened.

"Okay, the owner's asked you to leave, I'd do as he says." Charlie stated, walking over to Leah.

"Sargent Buckton," Heath said. "I guess this place is full of cops huh?"

Charlie ignored him and instead led Leah away from Angelo and Heath. "You alright?" She asked.

"Yeah I'm fine." Leah said just as Angelo pushed Heath and said, "Get out." Heath pushed Angelo back and Angelo was going to hit Heath when he was held back by someone else. Suddenly everyone started fighting, turning the Single's night into an all out brawl. Amongst all the chaos, Miles Copeland entered Angelo's and was barely there two minutes before getting hit in the head with a glass bottle and collapsing to the ground.

* * *

**Did you like it? Did you like it? I know it included a lot of dialogue from Home and Away but it is going to be one of those stories. **

**Let me know what you enjoyed, what you didn't, any tips to make my writing better, it'll be really appreciated.**

**Ciao for now,**

**Jaya.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey readers, because I'm on a two weeks school holiday, I have more time to update, therefore I bring you this chapter, I hope you like it :) **

**In response to your reviews:**

**lazza77- Thank you, I'm glad you like it :)**

**rebeccabraxton- Thanks :) I'll definitely try and incorporate some twists and turns as this story progresses.**

**Ruby- Thanks for your review. Haha, I can try to add some steamy stuff, but just be warned I'm not good at writing steamy stuff.**

**beebee483- Thanks for your review, and I'm happy that you still read and enjoy (hopefully) my stories. Yeah, I'll definitely have to do that, I did this chapter, I didn't write a lot of stuff.**

**Guest- Thank you for your review :)**

**JS-Thanks for your review and yep I'm aware of that. But I really want to make this true to how it really happened but I am going to try to make it my own and add my own bits in.**

**Guest- Thanks, I'm glad you like it :) I loved Charlie and Brax at the beginning too.**

* * *

Charlie watched as her colleagues tried to get the brawl under control. As Heath was shoved in a police car, Brax walked towards Charlie.

"What are you taking Heath in for?" Brax asked. "Angelo started it."

"You're more than welcome to accompany your brother down to the station," Charlie informed him. "If you want to argue his case."

"Yeah, I'd reckon you'd like that though, aye?" Brax asked, a grin on his face.

Charlie looked at him for a few moments before Brax turned around to go back to where all the action was taking place. Ruby Buckton walked over to Charlie, followed by Romeo.

"Charlie, what's going on?" Ruby, Charlie's daughter asked.

"Is that Darryl Braxton?" Romeo asked.

"No. You two need to get out of here okay?" Charlie answered.

"Be careful." Ruby said, walking away with Romeo.

"The Riverboys are all taken off," Charlie told Leah, Miles and Angelo. "And from what's left of the crowd they don't look like they'll cause anymore trouble."

"So it's safe to leave?" Leah asked.

"Yeah. I wouldn't go for any late night walks on the beach though," Charlie answered. "Miles, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great," Miles answered. "I've never been better."

"Did you see who hit you?" Charlie asked.

"Well, apart from seeing my life flash before my eyes I may have seen something." Miles said.

"Well, I think we need to get you to the hospital." Leah told Miles.

"Yeah, I'll take him." Angelo said, going to get up from where he was sitting next to Miles on the couch.

"No I will," Charlie said. "I'm going to need to get a statement from you in the morning." She told Angelo.

"Yeah, sure." Angelo replied.

"In the meantime, looks like you're gonna have your work cut out for you." Charlie said, before exiting the restaurant, leaving Angelo alone to look around his restaurant, which was a mess.

"Yeah." He said to himself.

* * *

Charlie got out of her police car and was walking down the path that led to Angelo's and the beach when she spotted Angelo taking out some rubbish. "Hey," She greeted. "How many garbage bags is that?"

"Ten," Angelo answered. "Not that I'm counting."

"Just come from the station," Charlie told the ex-cop turned restaurant/bar owner. "From the description that Miles has given us, it sounds like Heath Braxton's the one who hit him."

"That doesn't surprise me at all." Angelo said as they walked towards the rubbish bins.

"But you can't confirm it?" Charlie asked.

Angelo looked at Charlie. "It all happened pretty quickly."

"Right," Charlie said. "Well, we should be okay with just Miles' statement. Plus, Heath has priors which means an assault conviction could put him behind bars. Any luck, it'll send a message to the rest of the Riverboys as well."

"Yeah, but I don't see how him doing time behind bars is gonna help me out though." Angelo told her. "You know all my stock's gone, the crockery, glassware, everything."

"Well, I mean if you promised cheap booze and desperate chicks it's not like you can really expect it to end well." Charlie said.

"Thanks for your support." Angelo said, not really meaning what he said. "You know I made the front page of the coastal times too."

"What?" Charlie asked. "No, I haven't read it yet."

Angelo turned to look behind him at Charlie. "Yeah. I had a couple I used to wrap up all the glassware."

"How bad is it?" Charlie asked.

Angelo sighed. "Couldn't be any worse." He told her before heading back towards the restaurant.

* * *

Angelo was putting up chairs when Brax walked in, wearing a blue shirt and 3/4 black shorts.

"We're closed!" Angelo said. "It says it on the sign."

"Jeez, who would've thought a bit of fun would turn into this. Seriously, you're gonna have to be more careful with who you let into this place." Brax said.

"What do you want Brax?" Angelo asked.

"Once a copper, always a copper," Brax commented. "You know you're just like you're mates at the station, getting all worked up over nothing."

"Take a look around!" Angelo gestured with a hand to signal the empty restaurant. "You call this nothing? Just like the stitches on my mates head?"

"Just a bit of a biff," Brax said. "It's character building."

"Well you tell that to the magistrate." Angelo said, his arms folded.

"Yeah, we'll see if it gets to that. It's like how often do you have these single's nights?" Brax asked.

"Oh trust me it won't be happening again." Angelo answered.

"It's too bad, it's a great place you got here," Brax commented. "It's not your usual RSL number."

"That's because it's a surf club." Angelo told him.

"Could really get into a place like this." Brax said.

"Like I said we're closed, so if you don't mind." Angelo said in a firmer voice.

Brax gave a slight nod. "Alright," He went to leave but then turned around. "Oh hey, about last night, like no-one wants a repeat of that, so as long as both sides agree not to let it go any further, I reckon you should be pretty safe to bolt your chairs back together." He gave a thumbs up sign before leaving the restaurant.

* * *

Charlie walked into the diner to hear Angelo say to Colleen and Leah, "This whole thing has been totally blown out of proportion. Yes, there was a little bit of a push and shove, but there was really no harm done."

"Well except for the thousands of dollars worth of property damage, you mean," Charlie said. "And then of course there were the various injuries sustained by members of the public."

Angelo turned to walk away but Charlie stopped him. "Listen," She said. "The bottom line is a lot of people feel the same way as Colleen. So if I were you, I'd say to lose the cavalier attitude."

Angelo didn't reply, but instead looked at her and then headed out of the diner.

* * *

Angelo was sitting at the bar when Brax walked in, carrying a box of alcohol.

"Oh, you're kidding me." Angelo sighed.

"Relax, I come bearing gifts." Brax said, putting the box of booze on the bar.

"What, vodka?" Angelo asked.

"Top shelf stuff too," Brax said, taking a bottle out for Angelo to have a look at. "Apparently. Personally I prefer bourbon but what would I know aye." He handed the bottle over to Angelo, who took it.

"Well I've already spoken to Miles," Angelo said, putting the bottle of vodka back onto the bar. Brax looked confused. "The schoolteacher with stitches in his head." Angelo reminded him.

"Good on ya." Brax said.

"Look I can't stop him if he wants to make a statement." Angelo told him.

"Mate, I don't need to bribe people, to get them to do what I want." Brax said. Angelo scoffed. "Look, your stock's running low and I'm sure that rumble took out a few extra and I can get bargain price booze, and plenty of it. Could be the answer to your problems."

"No offense but I'm not that desperate that I'd need to go into business with you. And I'll say it again, the place is closed."

"No," Brax told him. "No offense but you're not a copper anymore, so you can lose the whole neither now act. All I'm saying is if you were to go with my offer, it'd be a very good thing, and like not just for you, but the whole town aswell. The first case is on the house." Brax left the box of vodka on the bar and turned to exit, leaving Angelo to think about Brax's offer.

* * *

**I hoped you liked it, please leave me some feedback and I'll try and have the next chapter up tomorrow, if not, in the next couple of days.**

**Until next time,**

**Jaya.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey readers!**

**If you ever want to know what episode number these chapters are from, just let me know and I'll start putting them at the beginning of each chapter.**

**I just wanted to say that this is a story that I want to be true to the show. I'm not saying Charlie is going to die, she's not, but that's when I'm going to come in and make this story my own. I know it might be hard to be patient, impatient is my middle name, but I really want you guys to keep reading. This chapter was originally going to be really long but I cut some unnecessary bits out.**

**Responses to your reviews:**

**Ruby: Thanks for your review :) I'll definitely give it a shot with this story :)**

**Js: I understand, but I want this story to be true to the show. Please give this story a chance. Thanks for your review :)**

**Guest and Guest: Thank you and I will continue.**

**Braxton1995: I will try :) Thanks for your review.**

**Isabella- Thanks :)**

**Izzy09- Thanks :) I hope you continue reading.**

* * *

"What are you going to do about it, that's what I want to know Sargent Buckton," Colleen said to Charlie, who was in police uniform and had come to the diner for a coffee. "There's a crime wave out there."

"I take it you've read today's paper, Colleen." Charlie said.

"Read it?" Irene answered from the window in the kitchen. "She's been quoting it like the flippin' gospel."

"It's not my fault I've got a social consience, unlike some." Colleen said, not turning around to look at Irene.

"I wouldn't mind hearing how the police plan to deal with the Riverboys," Charlie turned around to see John, who had been listening in to their conversation and had gotten up from his table. "That is if, you do have a plan?"

"Don't believe everything that you read in the paper, okay?" Charlie answered. "There's barely been a spark in crime as we're concerned."

"I don't need to read about it," Colleen said. "I'm living it. Just this afternoon, I was assaulted by two of them."

"Offering to carry your groceries and being cheeky is hardly an assault!" Irene told her.

"That's not the point," Colleen replied. "We don't need the riff-raff of Mangrove River coming here, lowering the tone of Summer Bay!"

"What do you think's gonna happen when word gets out that our town's been taken over by a surfie gang?" John asked her.

"Look, last week's brawl was a one-off, it's the scaremongering that's gonna cause the damage." Charlie answered.

"Yeah, I wish I could view the world through your rose-coloured glasses, Sargeant, but from where I stand, we have a very real and serious problem." John said.

"Charges were laid over the incident at Angelo's and apart from that, there's very little we can do if they aren't actually breaking any laws." Charlie told all three of them.

"The more difficult you make life for them, the less likely they are to stick around." John told her.

"Of course I will do what I can," Charlie said. She paid for her coffee. "Thanks for the coffee." She picked up her takeaway cup and walked out of the diner. She was in a very difficult position. She couldn't do anything unless the Riverboys were actually breaking the law, or she knew the Riverboys, especially Brax and Heath, would be after her saying that they weren't doing anything wrong and that it was discrimination.

* * *

Charlie parked her car and watched the half-naked Riverboys wrestle on the grass. She sighed and unbuckled her seat belt, and got out of the car. Two Riverboys wolf whistled as she walked closer.

"Hey guys," She said. "You've been hanging around here a fair bit lately, what's wrong with Wilson's beach these days."

"Waves have sucked," A Riverboy told her. "Must be Global Warming or something."

"Planning a big night tonight?" Charlie asked, directing her gaze towards the four or so boxes of booze on the green picnic table.

"Big-ish. Who knows, if you want to join us, there's plenty to go around." The Riverboy answered, his arms folded.

"You couldn't think of a more appropriate place to party?" Charlie asked. "A mate's place or a pub? Families use this area, that's all."

"We're a family," The Riverboy said. "We'll fit in just fine."

"You're not trying to get rid of us, are ya?" Another Riverboy asked her.

"We're just sinking a few beers," The first Riverboy said. "Last time I looked, that wasn't breaking any laws."

"Just, keep things under control, that's all I'm telling you." Charlie told them.

"People drink here all the time," The Riverboy said. "You don't harass them."

"We don't harass people who are having a glass of wine or drinking alcohol in moderation," Charlie informed them. "You guys sinking a few cases is a different story, and you know that, and I know that."

"This is harassment," The first Riverboy said. "I know that."

"Behave responsibly, don't break any laws, and we'll leave you alone, okay?" Charlie asked, before walking away, prompting more wolf whistles and a "Bye!" from one of the Riverboys. Charlie looked behind her, looking at the Riverboys before turning back around and heading to her police car.

* * *

Fast forward a few days, Dex Walker had been found after being left in the bush and was going to be fine, and VJ Patterson, Leah's son, had had a near drowning incident after being hit by a board.

"Hey." Charlie greeted Miles and Angelo when she entered Angelo's.

"Hey." Angelo said.

"Uh, I've just had John Palmer in my ear saying Heath Braxton is responsible for the assault on VJ." Charlie informed them. Angelo sighed.

"Is he okay?" Miles asked.

"He's got a mild concussion. Do you know what happened?" Charlie asked.

"Um, something went down in the surf." Angelo answered.

"But you didn't see the incident?" Charlie asked.

"No, all I heard was VJ was surfing, next you know, Heath was carrying him out." Angelo answered.

"What did V say?" Miles asked.

"He doesn't remember anything yet," Charlie answered. "But he's still pretty drowsy."

"Okay," Miles sighed. "Well, sorry mate, I've gotta go, see if he's okay. Bye." Miles said before leaving the restaurant, leaving Angelo and Charlie alone.

"Thanks, you just scared off a paying customer." Angelo sighed, turning around to walk towards the bar. Charlie followed and apologised.

"Look, why don't you ask around the surf club?" Angelo suggested. "Surely somebody has seen something."

"Yeah I have, and so far, nothing at all." Charlie told him. "And I don't want to start throwing accusations at people without having proof," Charlie sighed. "But if I don't sort this out quickly, John Palmer is going to have a lynchbar on my doorstep."

"So, have you spoken to that Braxton boy yet?" Leah asked after she caught Charlie sniffing what was in the pan.

"No," Charlie answered. "I was gonna do it tomorrow. I'm still hoping to find somebody who actually saw what happened."

"Yeah, well John's right, they need to know that they just can't come in here and cause trouble." Leah said as Charlie took a sip of wine, thinking about what Leah said.

* * *

"You're nothing if not predictable." Charlie called to Brax and Heath as she crossed the rocks to where Brax and Heath had just come out of the surf.

"Just giving you exactly what you expect, nothing more, nothing less." Heath said as he ran off, leaving Charlie and Brax to talk.

"Hey sargent," Brax greeted. "What do you want?" He asked, his surfboard under his arm.

"I was surprised to see you all surfing here today instead of in the bay." Charlie told him.

"Oh, we go in the surf, it's no big deal." Brax informed her.

"Right," Charlie said. "So your decision had nothing to do with what happened there yesterday?"

Brax shook his head. "All that happened yesterday was that a kid fell off his board, and hit his head. It was an accident. It was no big deal."

"Well from what I've heard there was a whole lot of agro going round, especially when it comes to who's meant to be surfing where."

"We don't go round picking on grommets, alright, anyone who's actually spent time here knows that," Brax told her. "Kids don't get into trouble at Wilson's cause they know we're watching them."

"You're going to have to stop rubbing on my violin." Charlie said, which made Brax laugh.

"You've proven my point," Brax said.

"Which is?" Charlie asked.

"You don't care about the truth, aye," Brax said. "Yeah, you've already made up your mind about what happened."

"Well, if that were true, I would have already arrested your brother." Charlie told him.

"If anything, you should be thanking Heath for saving that kid from drowning." Brax said.

"Okay, the fact remains that every time you guys show up in the bay, tension rises. So, I don't know, maybe you just want to stick to surfing here at Wilsons." Charlie suggested.

"So are you warning us off?" Brax asked.

"Yeah, I think that would be a good idea." Charlie answered.

"Except, we've got exactly the same right to enjoy the local beaches as everyone else and if we're keeping our noses clean, which of course we will be, there's really nothing you can do about it." Brax informed her before turning around and walking away, leaving Charlie standing on the rocks alone.

* * *

Later on that day, Charlie exited the house to where Leah was eating.

"Hey." Charlie said.

"Oh!" Leah said. "You're up early."

Charlie sat down in the chair opposite Leah. "Yeah, I went and visited the Braxton's. "

"Mhm," Leah replied. "What did they say?"

"They're sticking to their story," Charlie answered. "The whole thing was an accident."

"Yeah but they would say that wouldn't they?" Leah asked.

"You know, the older brother might actually have half a brain inside his head. " Charlie admitted.

"What are you actually saying you believe him?" Leah asked, shocked.

"To be honest, I'm not sure," Charlie answered. "They swear that yesterday was an accident and that it had nothing to do with surf rage."

"It was an accident." VJ said, who had come out as Charlie was saying that it was an accident. Charlie looked up at him.

"Yeah?" Charlie asked.

"I remember what happened." VJ told them.

"Well tell us." Leah said, putting down her knife and fork.

"I lapped down on this wave and and must have hit my head on the sand when I went under. If he hadn't have saved me, I might have drowned." VJ explained.

Leah looked at Charlie. "Okay, well, I guess I should go tell them the news, I'm sure they're gonna love rubbing it in my face." Charlie said, getting up from her chair.

"Good luck." Leah told her friend and flatmate.

* * *

"The place is going off." Brax told Angelo.

"No thanks to you and your mates." Angelo said.

"Oh come on, you open your door to the pub, they're sometimes gonna walk in, it's just the way it goes." Brax defended himself.

"Are you going to tell me why you're here?" Angelo asked.

"Like I just said, it's a place of business open to the public." Brax answered.

"Okay, cute little lines aren't going to work with me." Angelo told him.

Brax scoffed. "I was just going to let you know that my offer from last week still stands, anytime you need some help, you just give me the word."

"I've already told you, I can look after my suppliers." Angelo told him.

"Is there a problem?" Charlie asked, having just entered Angelo's.

"No, no problem," Angelo answered. "Want some lunch?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," Charlie said. "Just a takeaway, the usual."

"Sure." Angelo said.

"Thanks." Charlie said with a smile. Charlie then turned to Brax. "I was, uh, looking for your brother actually."

"Oh yeah?" Brax asked.

"Yeah. VJ, the boy who was injured, he remembered what happened, and it was an accident. He got wiped out by a wave and hit his head on the sand he thinks." Charlie explained.

"Okay," Brax said. "Go on, I'm still waiting for you to say I'm sorry."

"Yeah, lets just say your brother's off the hook and don't push your luck."

"Apology accepted," Brax said. He smiled. "Oh, anyone can make a mistake. But, you know, being in your line of work, I guess you don't want to make too many."

"Yeah, well same goes for you I guess." Charlie said.

An awkward silence followed with Brax finally breaking it.

"So hang on, are you two together or?" Brax asked.

"It's none of your business." Charlie told him.

The smile on Brax's face disappeared. "So is that a no?" His face crinkled with confusion.

"Like I just said, don't push your luck."

* * *

**The next chapter will be up in a few days or so. Thanks for reading, please review.**

**Over and out,**

**Jaya.**


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